Facebook sees increase of couples during holidays

The days between Christmas and Valentine's Day show more relationship statuses changing from “single” to coupled on Facebook, according to a study done on the social-media site.

Kris JohnsonStaff Writer

The days between Christmas and Valentine's Day show more relationship statuses changing from “single” to coupled on Facebook, according to a study done on the social-media site. That means love is at full bloom now as more of the site's roughly 1 billion monthly active users are going from non-coupled statuses like “single” or “divorced” to “in a relationship” or “engaged.” These results come as a shock for some, including local resident Tara Valence because the trend was once that relationships would increase in the days leading to the holiday season, then drop off after to avoid the candy-heart filled expectations of Valentine's Day. “I thought it would be the opposite,” she said. “A lot of people keep their mate through the holidays to bring someone to family gatherings and parties then dump them after the New Year to not have the burden of mushy Valentine's Day attachments.” But the Rev. Josh Rodrigue, the priest at Cathedral of St. Frances de Sales in Houma, wasn't surprised by the statistics. “Oh yes absolutely,” he said. “We usually get a lot of phone calls for weddings. Priests dread Christmas and Valentine's Day because we think ‘Oh goodness. We're about to get a ton of phone calls for wedding preparation.' ” The Facebook study used data from 2010 and 2011. Data Scientists Jackson Gorham and Andrew T. Fiore looked at how different times of the year impact the beginning and ending of relationships. They started by counting the number of new couples and compared that figure against the number of breakups. The resulting numbers provided the net percentage change. For example, 4 percent more people entered relationships in December than left them, a gain for romance.The data showed far more people pairing up around Valentine's Day and Christmas than those who “joined the ranks of the newly single.”On Feb. 14, there were about 49 percent more new relationships than breakups; 22 percent the next day. Christmas Eve showed about 28 percent more new couples. There were 34 percent more hookups on Dec. 25. “Admittedly, these numbers aren't exact,” the data scientists said in the study's final report. “Some people might not change their relationship status to ‘single' after a breakup. Instead, they might opt to hide it from their Facebook profile entirely. But considering the relative levels of coupling and splitting up across days, months and seasons still helps us understand the temporal patterns of relationship change.” Barbara Gaidry, 57, of Gramercy, and her new fiance, Kerry, are one of the many couples bitten by the season's love bug. Though their engagement coincides with the trend identified in the results of the study, Gaidry said their love story is unique because it didn't happen on a holiday. “I got engaged on Jan. 11, 2013,” she said. “I'm so glad he waited until after the Christmas holidays and did it before Valentine's Day. Now I have my own engagement anniversary date.” Nancy Diedrich, marriage and family therapist for the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux, said she doesn't think everyone purposefully enters relationships during the holidays just to have someone for a seasonal fling. “People want to feel they have someone in their lives on a day like Valentine's Day and Christmas,” she said, adding that it's human nature to not want to be alone. “Both of those days are when people feel the need to have a relationship. But I don't think that many people consciously do that. Around those days they're just trying real hard. They're maybe making more connections, maybe going out more.” No matter when people decide to enter into coupledom, there are ways to make sure your relationship is more than just a fling. Diedrich offered these tips to building a relationship that withstands the test of time:- Have very clear communication. Be as open and honest as possible with each other. - Accept and respect each other's differences- Try to earn and maintain trust above all else and understand that when you enter a marriage your role changes. You can be in a relationship as a single, and your obligations are very different. On a lighter note, the study comes with the disclaimer that some changes to relationship statuses are meant in good fun. According to the site, the fifth biggest day for an increase in relationships is April 1, or April Fool's Day. That date saw 20 percent more new flings than breakups. But unsurprisingly, the study says, many of these appear to be short-lived. April 2 was the year's most extreme day in the other direction, with 11 percent more splits than relationship initiations.

Staff Writer Kris Johnson can be reached at 857-2207 or kris.johnson@houmatoday.com. Follow her on Twitter @krisLjo.

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